


Be My Baby

by namupokemanchan



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: 1950s, 1960s, Adopted Children, Angst, Animal Abuse, Baby Animals, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Good Parent Grace Hargreeves, Grace Hargreeves-centric, Human Grace Hargreeves, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29174316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namupokemanchan/pseuds/namupokemanchan
Summary: Due to their inability to have children and Reginald's cerebral experiments, he adopts a chimpanzee for his wife
Relationships: Grace Hargreeves & Reginald Hargreeves, Grace Hargreeves/Reginald Hargreeves, Reginald Hargreeves & Dr. Pogo
Kudos: 4





	Be My Baby

The ring master had called the chimpanzee Pogo. Reginald would call it that too, eventually. For now he would call it "your new toy,” "the monkey" or just "it." Personhood would not be given to Pogo yet. Not much would be given to the chimpanzee called Pogo.

He didn't like the circus ringmaster. He had a waxed moustache, evil looking eyes and a big shiny stick. 

The other man looked nicer. He had a coat that reminded Pogo of his mother, a normal looking moustache and a strange glass circle in front of his eye. The new man didn't shake his cage or hit him with the shiny stick, the new man just looked at him silently. As he opened the cage door, Pogo shrank back against the back of it, expecting to be poked and prodded at or to be hurt in some other way but the man simply stroked his fur with his leather gloved hand.

He froze for a few seconds but eventually grabbed one of the man's fingers and giggled in the way only chimpanzees can. 

The man pulled his fingers away and closed the cage door. "I'll take him."

There was an exchange of green paper and the new man grabbed the handle of the cage, lifting it into the air and causing Pogo to shriek. He clung to cage bars so he wouldn't fall over, curling up on himself. Pogo's cage was taken out of the circus tent and a thick black cloth was draped over the cage by someone he couldn't see anymore. It was dark and Pogo couldn't see anything.

He did not like this. He did not like being in the dark and being carried by someone he didn't know.

The cage jostled and Pogo squeaked loudly, clingy to the bars tightly. Someone smacked the cage and told him to be quiet, shaking the cage when he wasn't. Eventually Pogo managed to fall asleep, curled up with his furry hands over his ears and shivering slightly. The cage was moving again but Pogo didn't wake up. He was warm and could pretend that he was back with his mother and his family, sleeping safely with them.

* * *

Grace wiped her hands off on her apron, smiling at the cake she had finished icing. Green cursive spelled out Happy Anniversary paired with hearts and sprinkles. Her and Reginald's 5th wedding anniversary was next week and she had been preparing for it all week. And maybe he didn't like cake as much as she did but Grace knew he'd love the ten year old brandy she'd hidden in the attic. 

The sound of the front door unlocking alerted Grace so she quickly covered the cake with a silver cloche and took off her apron. "Reginald dear?" She called, hanging her apron up on the hook attached to the pantry door.

Grace stepped into the entrance room after wiping the icing off her hands, her pink Mary Jane heels clicking on the hardwood. She broke into a wide smile when her eyes rested on her husband standing in the doorway. 

Reginald smiled back at her, the lines around his eyes crinkling. "Darling."

"Dearest," Grace replied, pressing a kiss to his cheek. She noticed the covered cage he was holding for the first time and raised a finely penciled eyebrow. "Did you buy another taxidermied peacock?"

Reginald laughed the warm laugh he reserved for when he was alone with Grace and took her hand in his free one, pressing a kiss to it. "No, I got you a present. Well it's for both of us, I suppose." 

Grace beamed at her husband and squeezed his hand gently. "Keep talking, sweetie."

Reginald led her into the living room, their shoes clicking in unison. Once Grace had sat down on the loveseat and he had set down the cage on the coffee table between them, Reginald began to explain. "One of my contacts is involved with a circus and since we're trying for a child and I've been working on cerebral development in primates, I decided to kill two birds with one stone."

His wife's eyebrows knit together. "With what?"

Reginald bent down and pulled the cover off the cage to reveal a small chimpanzee curled up inside, who looked up at the change in light. "I know a chimp isn't exactly a baby but I think it would be good practice for you, dear."

Grace cooed at the animal as she moved closer to stare at it. "Oh he's darling, Reginald!"

Her husband smiled the crinkly eye smile he did when he made Grace happy, moving to unlock the cage so she could lift the chimpanzee out of the cage.

Grace scooped up the monkey, setting him down on her lap and examining his tiny hands and face. "He's so little, dear! Look at his little face! And his toesies! Does he have a name?" She asked excitedly. 

"I believe the ringmaster called him Pogo."

"Pogo," Grace echoes as the chimpanzee grabbed her finger. "That's cute."

"I'll let you two get to know each other," Reginald said as he got to his feet, pressing a kiss to his wife's forehead. "I love you, Grace dear."

"I love you too, darling," Grace said sweetly, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind her ear and causing her dangling pearl earring to tinkle softly.

She watched her husband leave for his basement laboratory as she ran her fingers over Pogo's fur. 

Pogo made a soft little noise and held his hand out to her, opening and closing his fingers. This human had hands like his mother did. 

Grace smiled and pressed a kiss to his head. "You're so little. Just a little boy."

Pogo grabbed her hand and giggled, squeezing her finger in his much smaller ones. He liked this human.

Getting to her feet, Grace shifted Pogo into a shoulder hold and began walking up the stairs while humming a Marilyn Monroe song softly. He was going to get the full tour of the Hargreeves manor. 


End file.
